debit/credit/cash amsterdam
i'm reading on posts that no type of american card..debit nor credit... will work at the train station or the airport. not for purchases or at the ticket kiosks. what is the real deal? could someone please tell me what amsterdam is like for debit/credit
nancy
in your head 3/21/10
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For domestic trains (including routes into Belgium) Dutch Rail will *not* accept US magnetic strip credit cards either at the ticket machines or the ticket windows. The only exception is at the Schipol airport train station, they will accept US cards at the windows. Around the city US cards are widely accepted, although some merchants will require you to entire your credit card's pin number to finalize the transaction instead of a signature. If you've forgotten it, be sure to call your bank and get a new one. The Albert Hiejn supermarket chain is one notable exception...they won't accept magnetic strip cards.
"For domestic trains (including routes into Belgium) Dutch Rail will *not* accept US magnetic strip credit cards either at the ticket machines or the ticket windows." Not true, unless this has changed since December when I purchased a ticket at Amsterdam Centraal to Brussels at the international ticket counter. I couldn't comment on domestic NS trains, though. On the same trip, the one time I withdrew cash at an ATM in the city, I had no problems either, although I couldn't guarantee every ATM will work for your card.
At the international ticket counters you can use US credit cards for tickets into Belgium and other parts of the continent. But you can also purchase tickets into Belgium at the "domestic" ticket counters (the lines are often faster), where magnetic strip cards are no go.
At Schipol and A'dam Centraal last summer, I found that about 25% of the machines would accept US-style cards. I never worried much about it, I just kept looking for a terminal that had the Visa credit logo on the screen. I've got the receipts to prove this is possible. Elsewhere in Amsterdam, you will be fine. Just be sure to tell your bank you are going and have a 4-digit PIN if you use a debit card.